German Foreign Minister Annalena Barbock announced an additional €200 million ($218 million) to support Ukrainians during their third winter of war, amid Russia’s ongoing attacks on infrastructure, she said during a visit to Kiev.
The money will be used so that homes close to the front line without energy supplies can also receive fuel and “Ukrainians can be provided with essentials such as blankets or warm winter coats to protect them from the freezing temperatures,” she said at a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in the capital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is now seeking military assistance from North Korea and is doubling down his efforts in eastern Ukraine, Baerbock said.
He is deliberately targeting lifelines across the country, bombing power plants and destroying power lines in what she described as a perfidious strategy, with almost two-thirds of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure destroyed, leaving people without electricity and heat.
The additional humanitarian aid is not support for the energy sector but is slated for winter emergency aid measures for the public, such as solid fuels for homes near the front line, insulation, winter clothing, blankets and cash assistance.
This latest sum brings German Ukraine aid for humanitarian purposes – such as mine clearance – to €390 million.
